Criterion Joins Hulu Plus

Beginning today The Criterion Collection has made available over 150 titles from its library on Hulu’s paid service, Hulu Plus.

Known best as a destination for streaming the latest in popular TV series (as well as full runs of some TV shows), with the Criterion deal (only available in the U.S.) Hulu is trying to grab the attention of movie buffs, while keeping pace with it’s biggest competitor, Netflix. UPDATE: A spokesperson for Criterion confirms that Hulu will exclusively stream Criterion titles by year’s end.

With today’s launch you can stream some of the Criterion essentials: The 400 Blows, The Seven Samurai, Breathless, Jules and Jim, M, Rashomon and La Strada to name a few, with more titles being added monthly (Criterion currently has digital streaming rights to over 800 films). And because they’re on Hulu Plus there won’t be any annoying ad breaks in the movies as you find in the free version of Hulu, (Hulu Plus is priced at $7.99-a-month, the same price as Netflix) however a few Criterion titles will show up on the free version every month with ad breaks.

In a blog post, Hulu’s Eugene Wei also promises in the coming months titles that have been difficult or impossible to find in any format like Jean-Pierre Melville‘s Le Silence de la Mer and early shorts by Chaplin. And though the invaluable supplemental content Criterion prides itself on currently isn’t available, Wei writes that it will be added over time.